Ocean wave-energy conversion is directed to the exploitation of ocean wave energy to produce energy in one or more of four forms, those being hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical or electrical. See McCormick, “Ocean Wave Energy Conversion,” published by Wiley-Interscience, New York (1981, reprinted by Dover Publication, Long Island, N.Y. in 2007). The progress in wave-energy conversion over the past three decades has been by the combination of the energy forms and the optimization of the resulting systems. The present invention is directed to the combination of an articulated-barge system and a linear-to-rotary-pump power takeoff system. This type of system is designed to be coupled to a direct current electrical generator.
The articulated-barge wave-energy conversion system dates back to the 1970's when both Sir Christopher in the United Kingdom and Glen Hagen of the United States suggested the system. The system was studied in the late 1970's by P. Haren (1978) at MIT. He found that the optimum articulated-barge configuration was a three-barge system. In the 1980's, Dr. Peter McCabe showed that the efficiency of the three-barge system could be substantially improved by suspending an inertial-damping plate below the center barge. Dr. McCabe, then, produced a prototype of the system, coined the McCabe Wave Pump (MWP), which was deployed and studied in the Shannon Estuary for approximately nine years. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,550 (McCabe). The MWP was primarily designed as a producer of potable water.
In 2005, Ocean Energy Systems (OES) was formed in the United States to design and manufacture an articulated-barge system to produce potable water by reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination of sea water; See also U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0084296 (McCormick) describing a system directed to a wave-powered device having enhanced motion. Referring to FIG. 1, the high-pressure pumps connecting the barge-pairs are designed to draw in the water through a pre-filter, pressurize the water, and deliver the water to a RO desalination system. The system sketched in FIG. 1 is called the “articulate [barge] wave-energy converter system” or AWECS. See also U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0320759 (Lightfoot, et al.).
However, there remains a need for an articulate-barge system, similar to the AWECS and the MWP, that convert wave energy into electrical energy using a commercially-available rotary-vane pump.